We'll be doing our best to provide an injuries briefing each Friday during the season, and we're hoping (for obvious reasons) that they're all as short as this one. As The Stampede reported here the other day, Demarco Cobbs broke his arm in practice this week and will be out indefinitely. It's a real shame, as the sophomore Sam linebacker loked poised to have a big year backing up--and perhaps even challenging--Jordan Hicks. Freshman Tevin Jackson of Garland has taken Cobbs' place as the number two man on the depth chart.
Big Roy noted in the comments section of Stampede's post that, if Cobbs' recovery takes 10 weeks as some are estimating, he may redshirt this season and retain three years of eligibility going forward. The future remains bright for this young man, but it's a real hurt to the Texas D that he won't be available to help out in this transitional year to the Diaz Era. Here's hoping Jackson has been paying attention in practice.
The good news is that Cobbs' injury is really all we have to report going into the season opener vs the Owls. Aside from Connor Wood's transfer to CU, no one else who was expected to be in orange this weekend will be out. Here is a quick refresher on those who have been known for some time to be out:
- Christian Scott (strong safety)--suspended
- Marquise Goodwin (wide receiver)--redshirting junior year to focus on track
- Malcolm Williams (wide receiver)--personal reasons
Other than that, the Longhorns will be at full strength to start the year. We would also be remiss if we did not include a mention of Blaine Irby here, as the starting H-back has battled back from an extreme injury (severe is too weak a word) to be ready for opening day. The fact that he is not listed here is worth noting in and of itself, as the question at first was not whether he'd play against Rice but whether he'd be walking on his own by today.. Hook 'em!